Mommy Goes Green

Yet another reason to throw away your Johnson’s Baby Shampoo ( and a whole bunch of other conventional baby shampoo! ).  The Journal of the Dermatology Nurses’ Association has release research that a chemical preservative may cause increased rates of allergic contact dermatitis, an inflammation of the skin that varies from mild irritation to rashes and open sores.

According to the press release, the paper states that quaternium 15, a chemical preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde, “is the most sensitizing formaldehyde-releasing preservative and has been repeatedly shown to be a strong allergen that can cause contact dermatitis.” Quaternium 15 — used in many baby products including Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Mr. Bubble Bath and Huggies Baby Wash — is considered by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group to be among the most clinically significant contact allergens in children.

“Quaternium 15 is present in an alarmingly high number of baby products, making exposure and sensitization at an early age increasingly common,” said Sharon Jacob, M.D., co-author of the paper and physician at the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Rady Children’s Hospital. “This is a concern because repeated exposures to sensitizing chemicals, especially in early life, can cause a person to develop allergic reactions over time. Therefore, we advise parents to choose products without quaternium 15 and other formaldehyde-releasing preservatives whenever possible.”

If you need to find a safer shampoo for your kids, check out Aubrey Organics, California Baby, Earth Mama Angel Baby and TruKid.   We use TruKid products at home and I’m really happy with them.    SafeMama has compiled a fantastic detailed list of products that you can download for reference. You can find many of these products in the Mommy Goes Green SHOP.

Also, I noticed during my last visit to our local hospital that the newborns are washed in Johnson’s Baby Shampoo – I will definitely be welcoming our baby into the world with my own safer shampoo – so if you have a baby on the way, bring your own shampoo and body wash!